Saturday, 6 June 2015

Twenty years of Charlton on the net

I think that the point when I really became aware of the potential of the internet was when a colleague who was a Luton Town supporter suggested that there must be something about Charlton on the net, and indeed there was. I found a club site and not long afterwards I joined the Glynne Jones list, of which I am still a member today. Congratulations to Glynne, by the way, on his recent marriage.

Voice of the Valley editor Rick Everitt has published a review of the twenty years of a Charlton presence online: Online presence

He is kind enough to mention Addick's Diary which was one of the first online fan sites and was originally written in a diary format. Rick also mentions that when he made a trip to the States, I stood for him as match reporter and this was one of my greatest thrills as an Addick, going to the press conferences after the match. Read more about this here: Way Back Then

Rick does mention the lack of a proper archive of the early resources, which is a great shame. However, you can still track down Addick's Diary in its earlier versions.

If we didn't have the net, we wouldn't have Jonathan Acworth advising us on which players to buy from his riverside penthouse in Greenwich.

The famous economist Maynard Keynes said that everything in Ramsgate was either second rate or third rate, but Rick's own online contributions disprove this theory.

4 comments:

20 years ago the timing of all this stuff was perfect for me Wyn as I emigrated to Canada. I still remember the days of constantly refreshing the screen to get an updated score on "Sporting Life" and some other sites. All that site hopping made for a busy 90 minutes!I'm very grateful to you, Rick, all the other bloggers and the Club personnel who, over the years, have provided a long distance view of the games and goings-on. It's provided a closeness to events which I have and do still appreciate very much.It was very different when I was in Uni ('74 - '77), when I couldn't make it to a game (I did go to many) I used to ring the Club admin office a few times during each game and some very kind ladies used to answer the phone and give me the score - ladies if any of you are reading this, my belated thanks, if any of you remember :)My thanks to you all.

About Me

I started supporting Charlton in 1953 when my father took me to a game (my mother came sometimes as well). My father was born in North Woolwich in 1908 and
had been a Charlton supporter since the 1920s when an older cousin took him. He raised the admission fee by looking after horses while deliveries were made. I now live in Leamington in Warwickshire, but remain a season ticket holder, as was my late wife. Visitors to my CAP blog may be confused by this but, as well as being a Charlton supporter, I am expert on the CAP and the political economy of the food chain. I am also a frequent commentator for UK and international print and broadcast media and wire services on British politics, hence my new blog on the subject.